Ascent of Souls

A Pathfinder campaign to make legends

Whistledown

Large Town
Situated on western point of Lake Syrantula on Youdabakari River
Home to Caer Anne (headquarters for the Empyreal Knights) and the Temple of Cayden Cailean.

Whistledown is something of an oddity among the settlements of Golarion. Situated on the western-most point of the most southern lake in Varisia, Lake Syrantula, Whistledown is due east of Magnimar and due west of Janderhoff. It is the largest town in southern Varisia precisely because the town that was primarily a fishing port on the lake was situated between Magnimar, Kaer Maga (to the northeast), and Korvosa (to the southeast) as they grew in their trade power. Whistledown became useful as a nice meeting place between family, friends, and tradesmen from the three main cities of Varisia, and so the town grew up a bit quick for it’s own good.

Because it came from more humble beginnings, the town of Whistledown never truly developed a fair guard militia. The markets and the theives’ dens grew faster than the barracks, so most of the town is looked after by the major local tradesmen. At most, Whistledown has a small policing force, which answers to a small council board (which includes the four major tradesmen). Because of this, Whistledown also grew a large and well-established black market. The town grew a reputation of being a fantastic site for smuggling, not-quite-legal substances, and lots of alcohol. The fishermen and sailors of Lake Syrantula saw to that, as some would travel out to the seas and bring home newer and more complex alcohol. Whistledown became fascinated with the fermented drinks, realizing they had good land for growing grapes and wheat as well. Most everyone is in a pub or bar every night of the week, and the number of bars in the town have overtaken any other particular type of building in Whistledown.

Perhaps the oddest bit of Whistledown, though, has occurred with its architecture. Whistledown experiences lots of rain and thunderstorms, so having dry walkways were deemed essential to the tradesmen, smugglers, and sailors, and the quick expansion of the town brought a lot of new people over a short period of time. So the town is built of lots of two-story buildings with a right labyrinth of walkways connecting the second floors of everything in the town. Only a few buildings, like the taverns, have a third story, and most of the well-to-do citizens hear rumors of a tunnel system underneath the ground just as expansive as the above-ground network.

Places in Whistledown:
*The Slippy Fish: a large bar near the middle of Whistledown; commonly thought of as the most popular establishment of alcohol and friends in the town; the owner, a half-elven fellow by the name of Ghery (Gary) Alethina, has his own unique brews of beer (Thickewoode), wine (rose wine), and whiskey (the Hearth Coat).
*The Ugly Bugger: the third largest bar in Whistledown, but also full of the roughest crowd in the city. The phrase “anything goes” is pretty accurate in this bar.
*Caer Anne: the Varisian southern headquarters for the Empyreal Knights of paladins
*The Crimson Boar: A mysterious tavern/pub with several sister taverns in main cities across the continent. Rumors talk of inter- and trans-dimensional travel within the Boar’s walls, a tunnel system underneath the Boar’s cisterns, and even possibly a troll somewhere within. One of only 12 buildings in Whistledown not connected to the second-story walkway system, and the only tavern.